High end: Depends on what music you like, if you are dropping this much head over to head-fi. Also you will probably need an amp. I have a Beyer DT990, Senn IE8 IEMs, and a Senn HD580. You need an amp for these except the IEMs.

A note on brands:

IN GENERAL:Sennheiser will give you a huge soundstage which I love. Senn is my favorite brand of headphones. Sometimes they might seem "laid back" to some people. The Senn IE8 IEMs are the exception, they have a huge soundstage but are also pretty heavy.

Beyer: Have a huge soundstage, ultra comfortable, great all around headphones but only really come in high end models AFAIK

Grado: I don't personally own these, they are supposedly really good for rock. Very in your face

Koss: Great cheap all around headphone

Bose: Overrated PoS. Can get MUCH better while paying much less

Beats by Dr Dre: Huge bass, nothing else. Probably good if you only want bass.

A note on open vs closed:

Open headphones allow sound in and out. They usually are much more comfortable to wear and have a better soundstage. Most of the high end dedicated non-portable headphones are open. The drawback is that everyone can hear what you are listening to.

Closed headphones: never found one I liked, although the Sony MDR-V6 is really good for the price. I said screw it and now use expensive Senn IE8 IEMs and love them way better than closed headphones.

Question for you, since you are so anal about audio gear ... I like to play guitar and have a Boss GT 6 pedal with a headphone jack. What would be a good set of headphone for guitar playing? Thanks for any advice.

tifosi77 wrote:Do tell me about this widget. I've wanted a better pedal board for years (and by 'better' I mean 'any') and have read good things about the Boss.

Also, can it work in conjunction with a virtual amp emulator like a Pod or V-Amp?

Line 6 Pod X3 Live

You can find one used from around $400, new at $500. Great pedal for the price. I use the XT Live (the previous model) and in the 6 years I've had I have had no issues.

If you want to save some cash get the XT Live for around $200 used - $300 new. The only difference between the 2 is recording capability (greater with the X3) and the ability to combine 2 tones at once (on the X3). Other than that there is very little difference.

How often do you play? Do you play gigs?

EDIT: Apparently they have changed the name of their pedals. They are now called HD (no idea why).

Question for you, since you are so anal about audio gear ... I like to play guitar and have a Boss GT 6 pedal with a headphone jack. What would be a good set of headphone for guitar playing? Thanks for any advice.

I assume you want something with a very flat frequency response? Most of the high end cans are very flat - unless you go with Beats or something lol. I don't think you would need a great set of cans for just guitar. Your choice would probably come down to comfort and to open/closed.

I think the AudioTechnica AD700/A700 would suit you pretty good - just pick either open or closed (AD700 = open, A700 = closed). That is a pretty general purpose midrange can that most people are very satisfied with. And for $100 on amazon you can't really beat it, it is a $250 can.

Edit: If you want to go a little cheaper, the Grados SR-60 would be solid. It is a can for rock. If you want to go more expensive, the Senn 580/595/600/650 are the definitive monitor cans. All of these are open only.

Edit 2: If you are playing gigs then go with an IEM obviously. I'm not as experienced with IEMs. I have the Senn IE8 which I love, but I hear that the Westone 3's are a lot more flat and would probably be a lot better for gigging. Also the high-end Shures are really good as well.

Last edited by AlexPKeaton on Thu Apr 14, 2011 12:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

bh wrote:Question for you, since you are so anal about audio gear ... I like to play guitar and have a Boss GT 6 pedal with a headphone jack. What would be a good set of headphone for guitar playing? Thanks for any advice.

I think you need to ask yourself how often you play first. Are you a casual player or do you do a lot of recording?

If you're just a casual guitarist than you don't need to drop $250 on headphones. In my experience (I've been playing for 17 years) for casual jamming just wear what is most comfortable. If that happens to be a $250 pair, go for it, but I usually just use some decent over the ear headphones.

eddysnake wrote:Looking to pick up speakers I can plug into my droid x for when I'm out and about or riding me bike to work, I need to be able to boogie down in all type of situations... Any recomendations?

eddysnake wrote:Looking to pick up speakers I can plug into my droid x for when I'm out and about or riding me bike to work, I need to be able to boogie down in all type of situations... Any recomendations?

bh wrote:Question for you, since you are so anal about audio gear ... I like to play guitar and have a Boss GT 6 pedal with a headphone jack. What would be a good set of headphone for guitar playing? Thanks for any advice.

I think you need to ask yourself how often you play first. Are you a casual player or do you do a lot of recording?

If you're just a casual guitarist than you don't need to drop $250 on headphones. In my experience (I've been playing for 17 years) for casual jamming just wear what is most comfortable. If that happens to be a $250 pair, go for it, but I usually just use some decent over the ear headphones.

No giging. I am a very casual player. I used to sort of be in a band, nothing too serious, but I bought a Fender Deluxe and the thing is just too load to use in my house. Also with two kids now I have no time to play except after they go to bed, so rocking out after that is not an option. I want to sell my amp because frankly I don't ever play anymore. But since I have the Boss pedal, which has amp modulation, I figure with a good set of headphones and I can put the kids to bed and then go downstairs and play without disturbing anyone. I've never really used cans for guitar playing before so I don't really know what sounds good or not? So thanks for the advice.

Question for you, since you are so anal about audio gear ... I like to play guitar and have a Boss GT 6 pedal with a headphone jack. What would be a good set of headphone for guitar playing? Thanks for any advice.

I assume you want something with a very flat frequency response? Most of the high end cans are very flat - unless you go with Beats or something lol. I don't think you would need a great set of cans for just guitar. Your choice would probably come down to comfort and to open/closed.

I think the AudioTechnica AD700/A700 would suit you pretty good - just pick either open or closed (AD700 = open, A700 = closed). That is a pretty general purpose midrange can that most people are very satisfied with. And for $100 on amazon you can't really beat it, it is a $250 can.

Edit: If you want to go a little cheaper, the Grados SR-60 would be solid. It is a can for rock. If you want to go more expensive, the Senn 580/595/600/650 are the definitive monitor cans. All of these are open only.

Edit 2: If you are playing gigs then go with an IEM obviously. I'm not as experienced with IEMs. I have the Senn IE8 which I love, but I hear that the Westone 3's are a lot more flat and would probably be a lot better for gigging. Also the high-end Shures are really good as well.

Thanks APK. I don't do any gigs or recording. Just want something that sounds good for practicing. I will check these suggestions out.

bh wrote:Question for you, since you are so anal about audio gear ... I like to play guitar and have a Boss GT 6 pedal with a headphone jack. What would be a good set of headphone for guitar playing? Thanks for any advice.

I think you need to ask yourself how often you play first. Are you a casual player or do you do a lot of recording?

If you're just a casual guitarist than you don't need to drop $250 on headphones. In my experience (I've been playing for 17 years) for casual jamming just wear what is most comfortable. If that happens to be a $250 pair, go for it, but I usually just use some decent over the ear headphones.

No giging. I am a very casual player. I used to sort of be in a band, nothing too serious, but I bought a Fender Deluxe and the thing is just too load to use in my house. Also with two kids now I have no time to play except after they go to bed, so rocking out after that is not an option. I want to sell my amp because frankly I don't ever play anymore. But since I have the Boss pedal, which has amp modulation, I figure with a good set of headphones and I can put the kids to bed and then go downstairs and play without disturbing anyone. I've never really used cans for guitar playing before so I don't really know what sounds good or not? So thanks for the advice.

Since you're just playing for yourself sound quality probably isn't your priority. The differences will be minor between a $25 set and a $250 set if you're just jamming. If you were recording I would recommend (not using headphones at all) something more sensitive.

Question for you, since you are so anal about audio gear ... I like to play guitar and have a Boss GT 6 pedal with a headphone jack. What would be a good set of headphone for guitar playing? Thanks for any advice.

Audio-Technica ATH-ES7...incredible. Got a refurbished pair from JR.com for 40 dollars shipped (I am not joking) about a year ago. Things are stylish and sound like monsters. I can see how they demand their retail price tag. If you ever see them for under 100 bucks, get yourself a pair if you're looking for a high quality set of headphones.